As organizations strive to improve their quality of service and efficiency, increasingly they are turning to electronic commerce (e-Commerce) to achieve these goals. Generally described, e-Commerce is commercial activity conducted on networks such as closed private networks or the Internet.
Historically, e-Commerce was conducted on private networks. Large organizations developed Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and financial institutions implemented Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Both EDI and EFT were used by these respective industries to transact business primarily between other members within the same industry. More recently, the proliferation of the Internet as an open system that can be inexpensively accessed by persons around the world has created a shift in the desired network environment for conducting business. Small and large organizations alike are looking to plug-in to the Internet for conducting business, particularly for the distribution and acquisition of products and/or information. In addition to organizations, private individuals also are turning to the Internet as a means for conducting a vast amount of their daily activities. One reason for this growth has been the convenience and efficiency of locating products and information on the Internet. By the same token, businesses have found the Internet and e-Commerce to be advantageous in facilitating and improving traditionally time consuming tasks such as selling products, invoicing, controlling inventories and communicating with suppliers and customers.
Another area of commerce that is of concern to organizations today is mobile commerce (m-Commerce). While somewhat related to e-Commerce, m-Commerce, or “wireless Internet” as it is sometimes referred to, has some distinct and unique features that set it apart. These features include, among others, appearance, capabilities and protocols. There are evolving standards and protocols in the mobile arena, along with a cascade of software and hardware options. While not all of these options will be viable, the concept and the offerings in m-Commerce are dynamic and are continuously evolving. In particular, customers and knowledge workers are no longer tethered to their desktop personal computer (PC) in order to access information. They can retrieve and process data anywhere and at anytime with a mobile connection to information. Organizations need to be able to provide compelling offerings for m-Commerce, build infrastructures that are suited for this area, and build business models that work for m-Commerce rather than just being wired models that are emulated and ported into the wireless realm. In other words, the technology must be dynamic and modular so that businesses may evolve quickly over time. In addition, the mobile business model must be one that captures the value of products and services in the wireless space.
A typical e-Commerce solution for an organization requires an infrastructure to support deployment and ongoing utilization, in addition to the design, analysis, implementation and integration of the web application. Furthermore, the organization is faced with issues relating to locating the necessary manpower and expertise necessary to attain the objectives of the e-Commerce solution. In addition to issues of manpower and infrastructure, there are concerns related to identifying and incorporating the appropriate functions to support consumer, business and commerce needs. As is readily understood and appreciated, fulfillment of these requirements involves a considerable amount of time. The nature of a global economy and the intense business competition that currently exist require organizations to expedite the deployment of any and all advantageous systems and solutions, while still maintaining a high quality of service and flexibility in their offerings.
Organizations also must make decisions regarding selection of a package-based environment or a home-grown customized solution for their entry into the ‘new age’ commerce environment. As is expected, there are advantages and disadvantages with each available option. A customized solution has the inherent disadvantages of locating the necessary expertise and allocating the required design and development time, which, as previously discussed, often are precluded by the fast paced nature of today's commerce. Accordingly, this suggests an inherent advantage to a package-based system. However, the advantages of package-based environments, which further include total integration, single source and support, are offset by other issues. These offset issues include developer/integrator learning curve, initial data loads, system installation and other similar costs that can be found with the initial version of any pre-packaged software or system. In fact, the benefits of commerce application systems can be fully realized only by an ongoing commitment to the package. Such commitment includes dealing with some of the total cost of ownership issues, such as the requirement for extensive training and exposure, dependence on vendor upgrade schedules and support, commitment to non-coding engineering activities, and the inevitable trade-off of increased features for ease of use. A package with a wide variety of features and flexibility tends to require more effort on the part of the end user both to familiarize themselves with the package and to become efficient at using it.
As previously mentioned, one reason for the growth in product distribution and purchasing via the Internet is the convenience and efficiency of locating products, and associated information, on the Internet. Consumers now can locate information (e.g., style, color, price, etc.) concerning similar products from multiple vendors in a matter of minutes, eliminating the need for visiting or telephoning multiple stores. Additionally, consumers can make on-line purchases of products and have them delivered to their home, or other convenient location, with minimal time commitment. Similarly, consumer business organizations have found the Internet and e-Commerce to be advantageous in facilitating and improving traditionally time consuming tasks such as selling products, invoicing, controlling inventories and communicating with suppliers as well as customers.
This business trend has resulted in a forum for on-line purchasing known as the Internet store or electronic store (e-Store). Many wholesale and retail consumer organizations, such as department stores, have created on-line purchasing options for their inventories. Additionally, manufacturers and vendors have begun to sell products through e-Stores which are not associated with a traditional consumer venue. Multiple vendor e-Stores offer the advantage of selling similar products from a variety of vendors, thus presenting the consumer with options for purchase which may not be available in traditional consumer venues.
An important aspect of e-Commerce and the sale of products via a web site is the visual depiction of the products being sold. More specifically, customers wish to visually examine a product prior to making a purchasing decision. Currently, visual depictions are provided by scanning photographs of products into the web site. A customer may then select a particular product and see the associated photograph displayed prior to or upon purchase.
This method of operation is adequate when either there is a limited amount of product, or where the products themselves are not subject to multiple variations. However, products oftentimes may be configured in numerous different ways and/or may have multiple alternative accessories and parts which substantially vary the visual appearance of the product. Under the present system, in order for the multiple variations to be displayed, it is necessary to configure the products in each possible variation and, thereafter, take, scan and store photographs of each variation of the product. Thus, when a customer selects a particular configuration, a photograph reflecting the selected configuration is retrieved and displayed on the web site.
As is apparent, when multiple products and/or multiple configurations of products are available for purchase on a particular web site, the photographing, scanning and storing of all possible variances can become extremely burdensome. Accordingly, the actual product configured as desired by the customer oftentimes is not displayed, but rather a generic version or a product which is relatively similar. In particular, certain accessories and auxiliary parts may be left off of the configuration simply because it is not feasible to photograph every possible configuration of a given product or product line.
Accordingly, a method is needed in a computer system for use in a commercial web site wherein the problems discussed above are addressed. In particular, a method is needed which permits presentation and display of various product configurations without the necessity of photographing or otherwise depicting each possible variation of a product.